Sweet success in plant documentation

Chapter 3: Time and cost savings, plus better information

Time and cost savings, plus better information

Without laser scanning, Michigan Sugar would have
had to take manual field measurements, and the
documentation process would have required almost
two weeks to complete. According to James, for the
field documentation alone there was a cost savings of
68 per cent. Total savings, of course, go beyond that
because manual measurements could have introduced
human error, leading to construction clashes and
rework. Industry-wide contingencies for rework on plant
data gathered manually typically run from 12 to 30 per
cent of total project costs, eating up time and money.

With the data from the laser scanner, all equipment
and systems, not just a few chosen plant elements,
were captured to within a millimetre of accuracy. Data
processing was also fast and cost effective because
the team paired the ScanStation P40 with Cyclone
software, which work seamlessly in unison. This marriage of software and hardware made it easy for in-house engineers to extract, analyse the data and create a 3D model in AutoCAD® of all architectural, structural and mechanical systems. “Because we
controlled all aspects of the project in one software package,” explains James, “we did not have to import and export data from various software packages, saving us a lot of time.”

The survey team also published Leica TruViews,
dimensional photographs overlaid on top of the point
cloud data, which people can view in Leica Geosystems’
free TruView panoramic viewer. Even though they did
not have in-depth knowledge of point cloud software,
the professionals at Michigan Sugar were able to
review the data and assess site conditions easily with
the TruViews. Schanbeck has found the model so
useful in helping engineering teams with their design
work that he plans to use laser scanning to document
the entire facility, facilitating future equipment
modifications and additions.